Possibly as a result of some lingering dark suspicion of charismatic leaders, the Reverend Dr Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon are still banned from entering Germany. But just as the English King Canute could not stop the sea tide some thousand years ago, it seems that the German government cannot stop the Moon from rising; that its ban is as effective as the French Maginot Line was against the German Army back in 1939: on Thursday, September 7, members of his family addressed rallies in 12 cities throughout Germany. Members and supporters of UPF-NL attended three of them.

Hot on the heels of Mrs. Moon completing an international speaking tour and a welcome home rally for 30,000 in Korea, Rev. Moon initiated another international speaking tour, but this time, as the US press release said, "there used to be only one Reverend Moon. Now, it seems, there are twelve."

Three Generation tour of 40 nations, 12 rallies in each This is a tour of 40 nations (sometimes a group of nations) and each nation is visited for just one day, during which rallies are held in 12 cities, the keynote speaker being Rev. or Mrs. Moon or one of their children or grandchildren or their spouses. The tour of last autumn was made by Rev. Moon, accompanied by his wife, then on her tour earlier this year, she was accompanied by her children, one of whom also addressed each rally. This is a Three Generation tour. The European leg of the tour is headed by Dr. Hyun Jin Moon and on Thursday, September 7, he and 11 of his family addressed rallies in cities throughout Germany. Their text was a speech delivered by Rev. Moon on August 31 at the first rally in Korea. Nine European countries will be visited in nine days.

But the German chapter of the Universal Peace Federation was not crowing about a clever ploy, indeed it probably was not in Rev. Moon's mind when he announced the tour. In introducing Dr. Moon at the main event in the elegant NH Hotel in Dusseldorf, UPF Germany's Secretary General Dr. Dieter Schmidt said it was a pity that Rev. and Mrs. Moon could not themselves be received in Germany, whose government was restricting religious freedom. He then brightened to say, however, that this experience was as if Rev. Moon in his youth was visiting, that his descendants had come to Germany "with his power and strength".

Dr. Hyun Jin Moon first came to fame in Korea for representing his country as an equestrian, a show jumper, in the Barcelona and Seoul Olympics. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Business School and has a Masters degree from the Unification Theological Seminary and the Sun Moon University in Korea. Now 36 years old, he has worked in businesses created by Rev Moon and is Vice-President of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) and President of the student organization World CARP (Collegiate Association for the Research of Principle). In 2006, he became President of the Youth Federation for World Peace and was elected President of Unification Church International.

Dr. Moon thanked the audience for their warm welcome to him, on what he described as a "whirlwind tour". He asked them to listen with an open heart and open mind to what, he said, expressed the "totality of my parents' work and ministry of more than 80 years". He talked of their "life long effort" to fulfill the will of God and said they brought a message of hope in the midst of a world of confusion and difficulty. The key point were seeking true love, to committing oneself to living for the sake of others; and restoring the family, creating a unified family of three generation. This, he said, was how humanity should live. By his manner, he communicated his parents words and, by his manner, his own heartfelt conviction and love and respect for his parents and their obvious oneness as a couple.

Having spent most of his youth in the United States, he delivered the English text with perfect fluency, speaking quite quickly but with perfect intonation, slowing quite naturally when he wanted to emphasize a point. He did not of his own volition pause for breath or a drink, but his speech was increasingly punctuated by impromptu, quite natural applause, obviously at times in places he was not at all expecting it, so he would sometimes signal he wanted to quickly make another point, which, while his speech was delivered with passion and power, resulted in a good natured and friendly interaction with his audience and a certain lightness of atmosphere.

The speech referred to the significance of these three international speaking tours, and to August 20, the date of the recent 30,000 people rally, being the 21st anniversary of Rev. Moon's release from Danbury Prison in the United Sates, "the last of six unjust incarcerations I had to endure in my lifetime". It talked of Rev. Moon's "intense heart" with which he was taking up this world tour, even "as I approach my eighty-eighth year... and do not know whether I might collapse along the way.", with the purpose of "revealing the secrets of Heaven..., a summary of divine teachings..., to remind you once again of your role and mission as seen from the viewpoint of God's providence, and of the importance of the age in which you are living."

The text spoke of the history and significance of UPF "to renew the UN and provide the leadership for a new sovereignty of universal peace" and then gave a short overview of "God's Purpose of Creation" and the "Importance of Lineage" in enabling True Love, and of how, at the core of the creation of the "Kingdom of Heaven", there needed to be a "Family of Three Generations Living in Harmony". It stressed the value of the "Intercultural Exchange Marriage Blessing" and talked of how the "True Parents' Peace Movement" was heralding the "Arrival of the Kingdom of the Peaceful, Ideal World".

The speech concluded that this was a "time of dramatic change. You have the mission to make this era blossom and bear fruit in blessing and glory. Serve humanity under the banner of the Universal Peace Federation..., if not you, then who will nurture and protect the blessed families and this blessed planet Earth that God has given us?"

The matter of fact, unassuming manner in which Dr. Moon delivered this speech should have allayed any lingering thoughts that the Germany government might be justified in its fear of this being a "leader centered" movement and this was emphasized by him stating towards the close, "let us build the world of eternal liberation and freedom, where there is no need for a Savior, Messiah or Second Advent of the Lord."

Prior to the main speech, there was a performance by a rock band of eight young people whose parents joined the Unification Movement some years ago, started (the group) by a musical mother and her children, a short PowerPoint presentation about the philosophy of UPF and a video about its activities; and afterwards a marriage Blessing ceremony and a presentation of Certificates of Appointment to new Ambassadors for Peace. Dr. Moon returned to the stage for a group photo and a victory cheer and through the whole proceedings carried himself with an easy grace and naturalness which was immensely impressive.

Informal meeting, Friday morning, expansion on main themes of the speech The following morning, Friday, September 8, many UPF supporters responded to an invitation to an early morning meeting. The rock band played again and there was much spontaneous sharing and Dr. Moon expanded at length on the major themes of the speech of the night before.

His first key point was "True Love". People responded more to heart and true love more than to an intellectual or rational presentation. In this sense, returning to an old accusation, Rev. Moon was not a brain washer but a heart washer. And true love was simply living for the sake of others. In training courses for young people, some time was spent fundraising, and selling plants or other small items. The trainees learnt that people responded more to them than the product itself.

The second point was the need to manifest this in a family of three generations, representing stability and eternity and the past, present and future. This was the purpose behind this tour, twelve cities in a new country almost every day, requiring considerable strength and energy, to show this model of three generations united in the one purpose of manifesting true love and living for others as the solution for today's problems in the family, society and beyond.

Dr. Moon referred to Jesus saying that one had to become like a child, open and pure. If you put Moslem and Jewish and Christian children in a sand pit together they would automatically play with each other, but as they got older, they might want to kill each other because the world was not full of love and hearts got blocked. Without true love, resentments could be created and people could stirred up by, and respond to, stories about the past, even about things they hadn't themselves experienced. But a child's original heart looked for harmony and that was why Jesus said what he did.

In his business experience, he had learnt that in the beauty/cosmetics business they knew that women wanted to keep the looks they had between the ages of 19 and 21, that was when they were at their most beautiful. We should try and keep that internal beauty.

Success came to keeping a youthful and open spirit and activating our Ki/Chi energy. Without this energy, one didn't have much power, but martial artists who were aware of it could hit through bricks; what was important for us was to connect with it and have the hope and faith that God could use us to create a better world, whatever the external circumstances. Difficult situations could help prepare us to be the owner of true love, if we could be open for the original heart and God's Providence and the energy of the universe connected with that providence, miracles could happen; people responded to true love.

Dr. Moon and his relatives were to speak in Italy on Friday and the European tour would climax in the UK on September 14. UPF-NL members and supporters are attending a number of rallies and helping the European tour in a number of ways.

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